As a Jamaican nonprofit organization, we are aware that you, our supporters, family and friends in the Highgate community in Jamaica and here in the US have found the last ten months very challenging. It is unlikely that any of us have not felt the impact of the ongoing pandemic.
True, this COVID-19 plague (a plague it is! Isn’t it?)- has been unforgiving of individuals worldwide. What is more terrifying is the fact that as more people get affected by the virus, the number of deaths also escalate.
The virus has affected not just individuals, but it has also taken small and medium businesses in its fold. Many have shut down, while others would possibly face its dreadful impact years after eluding its threatening claws. While we continue to fight the current scenario, UFOH remains steadfast in its pledge to serve the Highgate community and help the homeless in Broward county.
We feel this is an ideal time to bring you up to date on our future plans and showcase the initiatives taken by our Jamaican nonprofit organization over the past couple of months. Starting off, we have cancelled all in-person fundraising activities to curb the virus’ spread, but we have not in any way ceased to effectively serve the Highgate community.
Over the past six months, as a nonprofit providing COVID Support in Jamaica, the United Friends of Highgate (UFOH) has delivered over $2,500 worth of healthcare packages to those unable to afford basic sanitation products like masks, food and sanitizers. These items were also distributed to the infirmaries, hospitals and health centers, so frontline medical staff doesn’t run out of necessary supplies. In addition to our chapter in Highgate, we have been very fortunate to have had the police personnel’s assistance and others within the Highgate community.
I know you will share with us the pleasure of congratulating our scholarship recipient Kerrista Moore who has completed her bachelor’s degree -BSc, in Banking and Finance with a minor in Economics from the University of the West Indies, Mona. Kerrista, a past student of St Mary High School, is from Tremolesworth, near Highgate in St. Mary. This year, we plan to honor our commitment of two scholarships to the University of the West Indies, one through the Governor-General iBelieve Initiative.
We feel compelled to live true to our mission and feet. It is necessary to help those in the Highgate community as well as the homeless here in South Florida. As the virus prevails, we will continue our efforts to reduce the disastrous impacts it has had, on these people, over the past ten months.
We plan to assist the Daybreak Assembly to help the homeless in Broward County, Florida. We will be providing funds to purchase pressing needs such as socks and masks in the coming weeks. Most of us are at a dangerous age at which the virus can potentially take our lives. Therefore, in the interest of our own health, only youthful volunteers will actually seek the homeless.
Although we have postponed all events, we continue to plan these initiatives through our regular monthly and Board Meeting via Zoom. Rest assured that we will not let the pandemic break our backs as we will evolve and adjust to the future’s new norm. Hopefully, we will have a more widespread impact on the Highgate community as well as on you, our friends and supporters. While we continue forging forward, we will endeavor to keep you informed as we are ever conscious of the fact that our goals cannot be achieved without your constant support.